Overlap
by Seto's Darkness
Summary: With Sasuke and Naruto, the lines between friendship, hatred and love easily overlap [SasuNaru, highschool fic]


**Warning : **OOCness –though the anime is the major proof for SasuNaru XD- **shounen-ai**, **yaoi**, **FLUFF **and **sap **and **WAFF **and all the good things. Oh, and slight spoilers, since **Sai** is here :P To those who don't know him… he's a "Sasuke-look-a-like"… when you squint and if you're really desperate to see Sasuke appear on Konoha's side.

**Disclaimer : **I don't own anything XD

The title came from Yu-Gi-Oh! Fifth Opening Song, sang by _Kimeru_. This is spurred on by the _lack_ of SasuNaru in –sad face- It's practically the _canon_ pairing, and yet… there seems to be very few of it these days –a very sad face- And… it's like the "apology" for the lack of updates. I've been rather busy, but I think I'll be able to post the others soon :)

Things in _italics _represent thoughts (or other "dramatic statements"). Things in (parentheses) represent additional descriptions. They're **not **authoress' notes :)

Please enjoy.

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**1. Naruto hates Sasuke.**

His blue eyes squint at the person seated on the column next to him. Really, he couldn't see why the girls _like_ him _so _much. He looks rather ordinary; he's got black eyes (Kiba has that), black-colored hair (Shikamaru has that), pretty hair (Neji has that) and pale skin (Gaara has that).

Uzumaki Naruto's eyes continue to stare at Uchiha Sasuke's form. He still couldn't see the reason why Sakura (along with the rest of the female population of not only their high school, but also the other schools) keeps on worshipping him, including the ground he walks upon. It's true that Sasuke's freakin' rich, and that his grades are the highest, and that his voice is all grown-up…

But he also sees the bad points that cling to Sasuke like second skin. He looks down at everybody else, and acts as though every single person who knows him is a mere insect to be crushed down with his words. His chin is lifted so arrogantly, his eyes Arctic-cold, and his stance is purely condescending.

He has all the attention and admiration (grudging respect, if you ask Neji and Gaara) from every single person in the area, and yet… he acts as though it's nothing.

_Yes,_ Naruto decides, _I really hate Sasuke._

**2. Sasuke hates Naruto.**

His posture looks stiff and strict, and his eyes are trained forward, watching the teacher's desk as the class waits for Kakashi (perpetually-late and superbly-perverted) to materialize in front. He successfully quells down the urge to smack the blond seated on his left side. He also stops himself from questioning Uzumaki about his manners. Though, he'd rather volunteer on killing _himself_ before he would admit that he's unnerved by Uzumaki's searching (and poorly hidden) stare.

It is thirty minutes into their Mathematics class, and Kakashi still hasn't shown up. It's rather painfully obvious that he won't appear until five minutes before the class ends. He keeps his long fingers tangled with each other on top of his shiny desk, and he stills the _twitching_. He's Uchiha Sasuke, prodigy student and sinfully sexy student with thousands of fangirls. He can't be affected by the annoying stare Uzumaki is giving him for the past thirty minutes.

He just can't.

To satisfy his strong urge to inflict harm on the younger male, he thinks of things that inspire hate towards the blond. He works that way: the more hatred he has, the more calm he is on the outside. It's creepy, but nobody else knows.

Uzumaki is loud, bright, stupid, clumsy, too cheerful, and in Sasuke's opinion, infuriatingly annoying as all hell. His migraines are not of because his fans are groping him yet again; usually his headaches are because Uzumaki smiles so brightly at nobody in particular, and that his whiny voice is harmful to his ears' health each time he speaks to his friends and acquaintances.

Uzumaki looks and acts so friendly, but he snarls (much like a wild animal) at him with barely-suppressed hatred. His voice pierces through the layers of ice he strives to build around himself. Uzumaki's _light_ reminds him so much of how dark his world is; Uzumaki's laughter reminds him so much of how cynicism took hold of his emotions.

Sasuke has to keep up his cool, poised appearance for the others to notice and worship him. The other… the Uzumaki boy, however, simply has to sit there and be his normal self, and he draws people to him in some mystifying manner.

Uzumaki has everything Sasuke has, with no effort on the blond's part, a fact that irks Sasuke to no end.

Sasuke's fingers are trembling slightly on top of his desk, as he thinks, _I definitely hate him._

**3. Naruto accepts Sasuke.**

It's not really a pleasant thought, or idea, for Naruto to think that somehow, Sasuke isn't so bad. And it's already chest-tightening to admit that Sasuke looks, definitely looks, much, much better than most of his classmates, males and females alike. Other girls who are too heartbroken by Sasuke's cold rejection began chasing Neji, Gaara and Sai, but Naruto thinks that the other three pale in comparison with the Uchiha.

And, silence (like Sasuke's brooding and statue-still silence) isn't so annoying. It's actually rather refreshing, especially during a chaotic moment, or during moments when tiredness really is too much.

Sasuke's arrogance appears oddly endearing to his eyes. Naruto thinks that he should send himself to the infirmary. Old Lady Tsunade's mighty punches are nothing compared to the horror he experienced when he realized that Sasuke's cocky smirk looks admittedly sexy.

No matter how aghast and reluctant he may be, deep inside, _Naruto accepts Sasuke._

**4. Sasuke acknowledges Naruto.**

It was a hard game; it all came down to a "showdown" between the two of them. Uzumaki fell down on top of him, but the ball already left his hand, and it entered the net a half-second before the whistle rang. His teammates piled around the big lump (which was the two of them on a heap on the floor) after their victory is sealed, and they all helped him up and forgot about the other male who did his best to win the game.

Sasuke, now fully rested from the game, feels like scrubbing his arms, to remove the feeling of human contact from a couple of minutes ago. Uzumaki is already on his bench, looking less dejected than his teammates. Sasuke wonders if the others would laugh with the blond if he had failed to make that final basket.

As though synchronized by some heavenly being, the blond's cerulean eyes glance up and meet his own obsidian ones. He steels his façade and meets the stare evenly. The blond stands up and walks towards his direction with slow and heavy footsteps. The sweat piles around the blond's forehead, making his face shine slightly under the basketball court's lightings.

Uzumaki Naruto stands before him, but Sasuke lets the blond experience this rare moment of being taller than him. A hand appears on his line of eyesight, and Sasuke's lips slightly curl downwards.

"It's a nice game, Sasuke." There's no sickeningly sweet gushing, no hopeful honorifics, no fluttering eyelashes and no unneeded touch.

Sasuke surprises both himself and his classmate by raising his right hand and shaking Uzumaki's tanned one. Their hands fit snugly, Sasuke observes, causing an unwarranted flush creeps up his neck, and further up to his cheeks. Hopefully, the younger one would just chalk it up to the sweating fatigue of the players.

"Yeah…" He could tell that his response, no matter how monosyllabic, is unexpected. Apparently, it's a pleasant surprise, since the blond's lips stretch sideways in a gesture of a smile. Not too bright, not too rowdy, not too loud. It also pleases Sasuke.

"You were really good. I hope to have a game like that again. Next time though, we'll win!" The grin is back, but it's still less offensive to Sasuke's eyes. It's as though Uzumaki toned down himself to suit the moody Uchiha.

"…You're not bad yourself." Sasuke feels distinctly uncomfortable after that half-assed admission, but the bright and comforting smile on Uzumaki's face makes up for that.

At that very moment, Sasuke finally lets his inner self cheer at the fact that he _accepts Uzumaki_.

**5. Naruto likes Sasuke.**

He doesn't know when it happened.

He could say that it was when he first met Sasuke, all snobbish and silent. The others were wildly volunteering for the Uchiha to sit next to them, while he just ignored everybody else.

He could say that it was when he saw Sasuke sitting on the swing on the park, mourning his parents' death. The Uchiha's face was blank, but the afternoon sun's glow melted the coldness imprinted on his countenance, leaving a grieving and wounded child.

He could say it was when Sakura humiliated him (and violently turning down his affections) in front of the whole class. Sasuke's mouth was thin, and his eyes aren't sneering down at his defeated and rejected figure.

He could say it was when Sasuke told him, in a roundabout way, that he's rather good. The Uchiha looked embarrassed at his admission, but it didn't dampen Naruto's bright liveliness that day, even though they lost.

He could say it was when Gaara told him (in that solemn, someone-just-died voice; with those creepy, crystalline eyes) that Sasuke's been staring _back_ at him. He looked at the Uchiha's direction, and true enough, those dark eyes are focused on him.

He could say it was when Neji read his fortune during the School Festival. The white-eyed male told him that he has been looking for a _dark_ person, which is why he could never be with Sakura.

He could say it was when Kakashi-sensei gave him one of his nose-bleed-inducing books. As his eyes and mind registered the terribly perverted words, he could only see the Uchiha's smirking face, as though teasing him.

He could say it was when Hinata has finally gathered the courage to admit her feelings to him. He had been wishing (rather guiltily) that he's going to like it a million, no, a gazillion times better if the one who was confessing to him is _another_ pale-skinned, dark-haired person.

He could say it was when Sai (another horrible, cunning, sly, manipulative, shameless pervert) blatantly tried to molest (…it was just actually _kiss_) him while he was fetching things from his locker. The Uchiha looked beyond furious, and the bone-breaking punch he sent on Sai's face was only a mere percentage of his anger.

He could say it was when he was at Tsunade's clinic, hips paralyzed from his mighty fall from the long staircase. He saw the Uchiha (while Tsunade was inspecting him) on the other side of the room, staring intently at him in all his half-naked glory.

He could say it was when Sasuke sat down beside him silently during the Valentines Dance, the event that all girls were killing each other for. The Uchiha was silent and stony during the time they spent together, and he had realized that being _stag_ wasn't so bad after all.

He could say it was when Sasuke offered to tutor him on his weakest subjects (another less depressing way of saying _all _of his subjects) when the mock exam results were released. The Uchiha asked him to go to his mansion, and he had felt as though his score was 100, instead of that glaringly low 10 marks.

He could say it was a lot of things, but it doesn't change the fact that _now_, _Naruto likes Sasuke_.

**6. Sasuke…**

It's rather easy to figure it out. He also doesn't feel ashamed of his apparent attraction and his deep feelings for another boy, and he doesn't waste time pondering about _when _he had realized this. All that matters is that he has this knowledge, and from the friendship and companionship they formed _together_, confessing shouldn't be too difficult.

It makes perfect sense to Sasuke, actually.

Naruto's the only who doesn't treat him like he's a precious piece of treasure that would break if not _groped_ enough with silky, artificially-perfumed hands.

Naruto's the only person who understood him when he grieved for his parents' death.

Naruto's the only person with enough unyielding determination and endless trust that could put up with him.

Naruto's the only person who's willing to accept Sasuke with open hands if he fails with his endeavors.

Naruto's the only person who's pure enough to balance Sasuke's dark pessimism.

Naruto's the only one who could melt the fierce walls he built around his heart.

Naruto's the only person capable of going beneath his skin that quickly, that efficiently.

Naruto's the only person who sees past the "tall, dark and handsome" label, and sees the person Sasuke truly is.

Naruto's the only person he trusts, acknowledges and accepts.

Naruto's the only person strong enough to change _him_, yet at the same time, keep him in his original, unaltered state.

Naruto… Naruto's the only one for him.

Now…

Sasuke waits patiently for the blond to go out of school. It's an unwritten rule for him to wait for the blond (who's finishing cramming classes from Iruka-sensei) near the school gate, before they eat together at some restaurant, at the mall or just at the stalls nearby. Depending on their workload and interests that day, they'd go just hanging out, or study at Sasuke's mansion. Bickering and mock-fights are more than common, but that's just how their strange, yet strong friendship works.

And that friendship is going to change any moment now.

He hears bouncy footsteps going towards him. Even with closed eyes, he could _see_ Naruto merrily smiling at him, still full with boundless enthusiasm.

It's a fairly ordinary day. Instead of the ordinary greeting of "Hey, dobe.", Naruto finds himself with a pair of warm lips attached to his own. Sasuke pulls away after a few moments, still with that "arrogant bastard" smirk. Naruto blinks cutely, truly wondering if Sasuke ate something upsetting earlier.

Then, his confusion is swept away (much like how the breeze pushed away the leaves that fell down from the trees) by Sasuke's fond smile. He finds his lips stretching into a similar (yet, brighter) smile, and he stands on his toes to reach the dark-haired male, returning the kiss earlier.

It's still the same, because they're still going to eat dinner together (it's Ichiraku again tonight, and it's Sasuke's treat _yet _again), and they're still going to disturb Itachi's serious studying with their bickering (while reviewing, of course).

It's also a bit different but it's okay. They're both rather used with crossing different lines by now.

…**Sasuke loves Naruto… and vice-versa.

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**OWARI**

Well… it's a little OOC for me –sigh- Hahaha, but like I always say, we all need some dosage of fluff in our lives :) I rarely use the writing style I used for this story, but I hope you still like this XD And I also hope that you don't mind the obvious bias on Sasuke's characteristics. It's kinda easy, since I'm a _rabid_ Sasu-fangirl :P

I know this sounds rather off-topic… but Kai Hiwatari from Beyblade (especially G-Revolution) is so HOT –drool- I've been watching reruns, and yeah. I fell in love with him _yet _again –more drooling-

Oh, and to those who know this anime: _God (?) Save Our King!_ (I think its Japanese title is _Kyou Kara Mahou_), could you direct me to some sites with background (character profiles; episode summaries) on this? Cause it seems like a pretty nice inspiration for a SasuNaru fanfic, and I've only watched the first two episodes :) Thanks in advance –wide, wide smile-

**Thanks to all my supporters/reviewers/readers :) **Please continue supporting me and my other projects (mostly SasuNaru, but I'm rather inclined to start writing Roy x Ed as well).

**Reviews are very appreciated :) They motivate me to write faster :)**


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